If elves are so overpowered why are they basically an endangered species (r/AskScienceFiction)
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- Опубликовано: 17 сен 2024
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Elves in Elder Scrolls: *enslaves everything in sight*
Snow elves destroy one city:
Ysgramor would like to know your location
@@jacobrudd6318 *kills ysgramors family*
*surprised pikachu face when the father goes crazy*
Elves in Dragon Age: *Gets enslaved by everyone in sight*
almost al parts of tamerial was ruled by elves but humans ceep claiming land and want revenge for slaughters and enslavement
snow elves killed by nords because the snow elves destroyed there first settlement in skyrim and the didnt like that
ayleids dethroned by there slaves / imperials
brentons are basicly halv elves and overtrownd there elve slavers by being beter than them
and than we got only the redguards left ho where never slaves the just kickt the elves of the land because there homeland sunk in the sea and where in need of a place to live
but there stil so many elve races that do very wel in tamerial its no problim
@@t84t748748t6 the redguards fought and killed an entire race of elves in yakuda called the left handed elves, this fight lead to the redguards developing the sword sing ability and that later caused the land of yakuda to sink, so the elves again by proxy caused another disaster.
360 years old elf: I am not ready for relationship yet
369 years old elf: *it is time*
420 year old elf: where am I?
@@b44442
Also 369 y/o E*f: *Captures a little boy to be their hubby*
@@SkoomaGodDovahkiin666STOP YOU HAVE VIOLATED THE LAW!!!
Eh, he's still very young. hes has the time
Because elves are like super pandas they can’t fuck no matter how hard you coax them refuse to use science and sustain themselves by devoting themselves mostly to hippy peace gods
kala misha khiane wants to talk to you
Ma'haut Ail Nazem , The Golden Lion when the elves sustain themselves from cruelty and violence it’s pretty much twice as bad as being xenophobic tree hippy or arrogant ivory tower bastard as now you are actively fucking with races that can outbreed you effectively 100 to 1 wanting your race dead unless your dark elves can clone themselves to that level humans will always win
Ma'haut Ail Nazem , The Golden Lion after looking at the wiki 40k elves who worship kaine aren’t the murder rape elves of that universe fascinating
@@tylerulfmann4586 what I was trying to say is that not all elven gods are hippy peace loving gods
Ma'haut Ail Nazem , The Golden Lion I did put the mostly in there elves typically have very little pragmatism they go either into total pacifism or into total cabal murder clubs with very little middle ground
"Elves tend to find a nice fucking forest and sit in it"
Caught me off guard and I laughed way harder than I should have.
As soon as I heard the "they can get over the eww sex" line I glanced over at japan
Hahahaha
Well, opposite to Elf wonderland where everything is described as perfect and everyone is sitting around on their comfortable sofas sipping nectar Japan is a place corroding on the inside because draining work ethics make it hard to grow even a single child.
@@cdgonepotatoes4219 and they became soo rich because of it, i say its worth it.
@@jmgonzales7701Wealth means nothing if you can't pass it on
@@almalone3282 doesnt matter, let them enjoy whatever they have.
I believe it's mostly because Tolkien, from which most elves are inspired by, believed that goodness fades over time. Thus, if elves are the most "good" race, they tend to be fading, especially in more cynical, grimdark settings.
I cant belive I never realized he was so cynical.
@@Sara3346 The Scouring of the Shire, which was left out of the movies, shows some of his cynicism.
That's why they created rings to maintain theire fading paradise in midle earth.
@@Sara3346 he was a WWI vet after all. The predominant theme in writing in general after the Great War was cynicism and pessimism. Though Tolkien wasn't pessimistic and still gave hope, just after substantial loss.
@@Sara3346 IIRC there was one letter written by Tolkien where he admitted he based Elves on what he imagined humans would be like if they never ate from the Tree of Knowledge and fell. I feel this is also why his idealized Elvish society comes off as super Christian, especially in his private letters.
as an elder of my village once said
"dont trust them knife ears"
But grandpaw do I have to trust someone to fuck them?!
@@turkeygod6665 wellll....they could be left in a shallow grave?
*Huh* that's disgusting and disturbing.
Knife ears? Im worried about them gosh dang ol argonians running around. They cant contract vampirism. What the fuck is up with that? It just aint natural.
Grandfather: I don't trust those knife ears.
Grandson: Grandpa your an elf, your daughter is an elf and I'm half elf
Grandfather: Ya and all elves are liars. Why your mother lies all the time, she's a politician for pete sake.
The elder of your village is racist
"Elves in Warhammer FB can cut through steel armor like warm butter but constantly seem to be losing ground."
Well, they picked a fight with Dwarves in Warhammer. Dwarves have much better than mere steel armor, and are willing to genocide in response to some particularly nasty grudes. Elves haughty nature makes them especially good at causes said grudges.
actually the elves only lost because they were backstabbed. they then retreated and the elves that sayed are STILL centries latter kicking dwarf buts. the dwarves also lost their empire trying to get the elves to leave.
WELL AKSHULLY the High Elves were still massive dickwads, regardless of if Malikith had started the whole thing in the first place they still would’ve probably found some way to shave a dwarves beard... somehow.
@@matthiuskoenig3378 and then the green skins kicked the dwarfs in the dick, and the bretonians kicked the elfs in the dick.....and then chaos kicked the entire planet in the dick.
But... The Empire ENDURES
@@ToAqui210 Sigmar bless this ravaged empire, that by faith, steel, and gunpowder we may push back the inexorable tide of corruption at our nation's door steps, and make this land safe for all free men... *For Sigmar, the Hammer, and the EMPIRE!!!*
"If elves are so overpowered why are they basically an endangered species"
~Plot~
No no no, they are just like Liberals. "If they are so fucking smart why do they lose goddamn always." XD
@@lafleurstudios holy...
@@lafleurstudios Because moronic uneducated trailer trash who vote outnumber educated people who vote
@@johnroscoe2406 Because the "educated" people vote with their feelings and not with their head and are willing to import a replacement population to outbreed and eventually wipe their lineage off of the face of their earth. I don't care if you have issues with your dad, I'm not going to let your college professor use your extremely impressionable mind to vote away the rights our forefathers granted us.
@@johnroscoe2406 >Because moronic uneducated trailer trash who vote outnumber educated people who vote
hahahaha you are claiming leftist are NOT ignorant ? I've yet have to meet one of them that understands basic economics.
I sustain my main point ,teach economics since elementary school until highschool, and soon, 70% of all leftist parties in the world are gone. The 30% left are the most moderate ones and who at least have ANY fucking notion on debt and fiscal responsibility.
In my country, my ''state'' ( we call them provinces ), was the most indebted and in deficit in the country, a bastion of the left, yet, the imbeciles voted for a guy who promised a raise of 40% in the public salaries, based on a projection of pure rises in oil price and that credit organism will allow to take even more debt.
Guess what happened ? They couldn't pay so now we have been on a 3 month strike of public services. Also oil union workers went to beat the shit out of the education union workers. That was the only funny thing out of this disaster. Corrupt mafia unions trying to kill each other lol.
Yaaay the left won again !. Fucking imbeciles.
Elven children are also an INSANE undertaking. With humans parents can raise a kid for 15-18 years and never have to see them again. With elves they’re stuck with them for millennia or longer because of how tight knit and isolated their communities are.
Say for the US. In many cultures is is normal to constantly interact and even live with several older generations.
@@solarissv777 About to start becoming very normal in the US because nobody can buy a house and a lot of people can't even rent cheap enough to live on their own anymore
@@solarissv777it's so strange to me
if I cut my fingers and tell my neighbor, the next day my entire family would know about it
Only shitty parents abandon their children in their teens.
@@aminulhussain2277 well yeah but that’s not my point.
Remember that time a warhammer fantasy author straight up admitted “there are as many elves as the plot requires”
If it works, it works!
is that just a trick of really big number though?
you have trillions, so a few hundred million for a battle or war is fine
War Hammer elders are just stupid thou, there a magical species, living right next to the magic devouring vortex… there’s a reason dragons don’t wake up and the dark and woodelfs out number them hard
@@theonesithtorulethemall The thing about Warhammer elves is if we're thinking only about their population as a species, then they're doing okay. Since all elves are the same type of elf, just with different cultures.
This sounds like the beginning of some kind of Middle-Earth TED Talk about why importing Orcs to Elvish lands is a good idea.
Right make feel kinda sick.
Captain Bongwater to be fair in the lord of the rings the elves are the orks so it makes sense that people would want them stuck in the same homeland
Tyler ulfmann There is only one race; the Elven race. #stophate #equality #soylatte #orclivesmatter
I want one of these TED talks about why elf females prefer humans males.
@@SgtValentine8448 Why are humans black in the analogy?
If you go by "offbrand" anime rules. The elven women seem to always get captured.
Elven wombs for human men. 😎
@@blackkennedy3966 Usually orcs actually
@@FishfaceTheDestroyereven without the offbrand, dwarves fighting elves would be like army ants taking down a tarantula.
Doesn’t matter if you are many times more powerful if in battle you need to kill thousands to make up for just one of your own losses
Why the hell do people fantasize about grape, that is absolutely disgusting
@@weeblordgaming6062 cause people are weird. I mean you could ask why people fantasize about vore, forniphilia, transformation, or being turned into someone else’s body parts. Humans are weird creatures that get illogical desires.
Probably just another form of sadism for those who fantasize about doing it and masochism for those who fantasized about being the one attacked
Then there's the elves of Elder Scrolls who are constantly on the verge of conquering the world, or absolutely wrecking the entire space-time continuum, or bungling into godhood. Then again, most other races do that too on a good day in Elder Scrolls.
Hehe the Elder Scrolls elves are chads,they have enslaved humans and been conquered by humans
@@bryanmanuel4945 And the Dunmer created their own gods.
But Khajiit has wares
@@StriderMackunironically furry elves
@@AuthorityCatWhich depending on what you consider canon, at least 2 are dead by the end of the third era (possibly all 3 depending on player choice)
Imagine having the baby boomers but for hundreds and hundreds of years
Genuinely a fate worse than death 😔😫
Well, if their brains do not deteriorate and they do not require pensions
That's a genuinely terrifying thought
"Like a Rural Homeschool going to Public for the first time."
I've seen this three times in my life. The farmboy consistently put my peers to shame. Turns out having to teach yourself how to maintain complicated machinery and build your own electronics does a lot to sharpen the mind.
Grew up on a farm in an Indian Reservation, doesnt get much more rural and out of touch with society than that.
When i finally started attending a public school outside the Rez, the other students and the teachers were expecting me to several grades behind.
I still get a kick out of the memory of their faces when i, an 8th grader, was able to get the school bus rolling after the schools janitor/mechanic said it would 'weeks' to fix.
Dude, all you had to do was unplug the battery for 10 minutes, to reset the Tranny Control box.
Had the same issue with the Rez Bus, for years....pretty much everyone i knew could have figured that out...its not a permanent fix, sure, but it us home lol (not even kidding, bus gave out on the way back to the school after dropping off the last two students)
While in middle school, i also fixed a couple projectors, and the principal's personal office heater.
I could have made a killing as a mechanic...instead im killing myself working in Nursing for wages that are on par with a high school dropout flipping burgers...
Yes, he was very clever, so are elves, but academics are not what this is talking about. Its socializtion with ones peers, or lack there of that this is talking about.
@@KaosFireMaker Except for the fact that the average homeschooled kid doesn't have these problems, it's a myth used to justify states schools in spite of homeschooling getting better results even when you compare people in the same economic bracket.
The only real value of state schools (besides 'guiding'/brainwashing the next generation) is as a place to leave your kids while you're at work.
@@MoffatLee please note I was homeschooled
@@KaosFireMaker Like I said, the average homeschooled kid has no problems, I went to a state school and had some difficulties with socialization, likewise I know others with similar experiences. However, those are just anecdotes, policy regarding education should acknowledge individual experiences while focusing on what is best overall according to the stats.
Even then, sometimes problems like these are a result of people naturally (or due to the 'environment' they are raised in) being more introverted, the stats show that men for example tend to be more introverted and less social than women.
It's obviously because elven women prefer human males
Just like Tau women.
Elves are subtle and mysterious and good at hiding... just like their tiny peens 😂
Bonefetcher Brimley: Not Fucking Cannon!!!!!
Wolf Valentine84 IS THAT A FUCKING TTS REFERENCE?!?!?!?1111!
@@javierrivera1586 ABSOLUTELY LIVID
It went into some rather painful elf worship towards the end of its run, but I liked how the Artemis Fowl series handled it's elves early on.
Elves used to be hot shit back in the stone and dung ages, but a mix of arrogance and deep rooted pacifism made them retreat deeper and deeper underground instead of actually using all that power.
They still have great tech and some magic... but there's a hundred-thousand if not more 'mud-men' for every single elf, and their technological edge is just a century ahead or so instead of the millennias they used to have but pissed away. It's never said outright, because again, the elves became author favorites later on, but it's pretty clear the elves are *terrified* of the day humanity outright surpasses them in tech, and figure out there's whole other civilizations under ground that had fusion power and wing-backpacks while we were desperately trying to figure out crud like the saving the ozone layer or not licking radium.
I mean they had magic and advanced tech they should have decimated us apes when they had the chance
Michael Doherty or at the very least like an imperialist power vassalize the human territory’s and put them in a constant civil war elevating and destroying countries while being revered as gods
If the author didn’t just focus on making the series about how the elves are near-perfect hippie vegetarians that live in touch with nature and humans are just absolute rubbish in comparison, I think she should’ve done either a prequel, or a sequel where it shows what would happen when the two societies actually interact. Kinda like the “Deathworlders” in a sense.
@@absolutelyyousless7605 It puzzled me so much why Artemis, a character whose whole deal is being a boy genius, never rubbed it into the elves face that saving the planet might be a bit~ easier of the people with perfect recycling tech actually stepped up and helped with that.
...But yeah, then Colfer got big enough that no editor dared touch his genius, and suddenly it made a lot of sense why the elves flaws felt like such a begrudged after-thought in the early books. Bleh.
@@LORDOFDORKNESS42 Yeah, for such a boy genius he really doesn't think through stuff as much as he'd like too. I think the book could have been so much more interesting if contact actually happened, instead of him seemingly changing himself entirely for his elf waifu (as in humans finding out enough that their BS PLOX NERF powers couldn't help it. It seems in line with what he would've done earlier, before his sudden change into a kind, wholesome lad)
I never really thought about the details of "they breed slowly", but it occurs to me that they could have ridiculous fertility windows. If a human woman is biologically prepared for pregnancy for a week out of every month, an elf couple could be aiming for a month out of every year or two.
Interestingly in Lotr elves are fertile whenever they want to be and only then. Though it also is not pleasurable in the same way and involves spirit stuff so they typically pick partners for life.
In most fantasy, a low birth rate and LONG growth period before you get adults capable of reproducing could be a major thing there.
An elf might take a few centuries to grow up, perhaps even more. Say, 500 years...adding in any other potential mortality things.
Comparing that to the lower birth rate means that there is more resource investment in the kids, but a LOT fewer kids.
This runs into the issue, while elves might be in a hundred to one capability in a fight...but, the elves aren't reproducing fast enough to keep the forces up there.
War hammer fantasy when the elves own entire donut
In Dungeons and Dragons Elves are in a species wide reincarnation cycle: for every elf born, another elf dies, and no elf can be conceived unless another elf dies. This means that naturally their numbers will never change. But there are some dark magics to trap or destroy souls, meaning that their numbers are actually constantly draining. And given enough time they will all eventually disappear, disregarding divine intervention.
i also saw something about an elf soul wall or something
Half elves are like humans. Soul wise.
But what if we genocided them?
Even worse/ better, like most things of Devine origin, elf’s have dads issues, and are trying to get back to the utopia of there dads realm…
And some succed, meaning the elf population is declining faster and faster… also lots that bitch exists
Sounds more like Minbari than D&D elves.
Yeah elves always seem like arrogant pricks that are going extinct.
BECAUSE THEY ARE
Fucking knife ears
think how dickish humans are when they get old, try doing that but 10 times over
@@SoopDwagg you mean about 60 times?
@@patrykkotkowski8781 so 6000 yrs old? most d&d elves can't get that old unless they are patron saints of gods or something in which case they're less elves and more like deities
Agelessness is a sword that cuts two ways. The long lived elves that are so wise from their time, have mastery of the weapons or magics they use from aeons of practice and have had time to advance to a life of idle. But picture how much less urgent you'd feel about getting things taken care of if you were amazingly skilled at what you do and were unlikely die of old age. The procrastination would be legendary. Even when you're pushed to the edge and must take action or must breed to continue your species your entire culture is based on this long-game approach to the world, you're not well-suited to rushing. Time that is a river to you when you have all the time int he world becomes a drowning pool when you're facing a ticking clock.
The problem with living forever, is you get really good at procrastinating.
@arnold jayeola Do you want more than 30 kids before you are effectively 30? Every new child requires new resources to keep alive. Elves tend to be pretty conservative with their resources in most settings.
Also Elves are probably perfectly fine with 0 population growth when they are established in a given system, while humans freak out they are dying out unless their population is constantly expanding.
@arnold jayeola No, but I bet an offspring is considered a 'child' for easily 100+ years. If you don't want to have a gargantuan sized family you'd have to limit yourself to around 4 children every century.
I'd also imagine that because the species is so in tune with agelessness, that the body in turn also takes that long to be ready to reproduce. Humans can reproduce at very young ages because at one point the average life expectancy of most common people was around 20-30 years old. Living long lives was pretty rare.
So our biology coincides with that need for reproduction. We are physically capable of having offspring at an almost disturbingly young age.
I'd imagine Elven biology would be completely foreign in this regard. They don't need to have new generations every decade to survive as a species. It might take 300 years for Elves are 'physically ready' to conceive a child, simply because there is no biological need to have children quickly to survive.
In fact, if elves bred like rabbits... it would actually hinder society quite a lot. Populations are kept in check by both reproduction and their limited life span. If your population keeps growing indefinitely, but you also live forever, it would very quickly overpopulate. It would be counter productive for a species that lives so long to have hundreds of children that also live forever and also can have hundreds of children.
@@totaldramagamer5521
"I guess that's why humans are so highly populated.
We're living much longer but still breed at the same rate we did when we didn't live past our 30's. You gave a very good example.
Elves don't breed so much since they live so long and are so powerful, no need for multiple offspring. Same goes for animals in our world.
I thought similarly about this. Elves immortality or long lives does not give them the sense of urgency as everyone else.
Interesting fact, a new study has discovered that neanderthals were both stronger than humans and also had larger brains. The way they lost was because they had no need to develop the more complex hunting strategies or tools, and so they never developed the complex societies needed to produce them. While they were stronger in the moment, this led to them not improving because there was no need to improve, and a couple centuries later they've been replaced by humans.
So humans won because they were weak. Nice
I'm no anthropologist, but from what I've read it's more the fact that neanderthals didn't develop large cooperative structures like sapiens did with our tribes. It was more that numbers overwhelmed the neanderthals than technological superiority- this of course occurring in the day when the most technologically sophisticated weapon was an uncommonly sharp piece of flint.
@@caityreads8070 I thought it was because neanderthals required more nutrients to support their bigger bodies and brains, and that a neanderthal's brain went more towards the animalistic side rather than the logic side of homo-sapiens. Which lead to them lacking technologically, so they couldn't hunt as well as humans. And the greater nutrient requirements caused them to either starve or interbreed with humans.
@@acrow5 Greater nutritional requirements are also a factor, but when you say that technological inferiority is what made homo neanderthalis a less effective hunter and fighter than homo sapiens, I think this is wrong.
Sapiens and neanderthals didn't use different weapons, but different techniques. Because neanderthals lacked the capacity for forming large, inter-familial cooperation structures like sapiens had, a band of 500 sapiens could simply overwhelm a much smaller band of maybe 50 neanderthals by force of numbers.
As for neanderthals being 'more animalistic than logical', I'm not aware of this being a fact- it's my understanding that they were just as capable of manipulating tools, forming strategies, mastering skills, and devising grammatically complex languages as sapiens were- what they lacked was the ability to form collective identities with individuals not directly related to them.
@@caityreads8070 You forgot one important catch - they couldn't throw things. I mean, they could, but it would be a very awkward throw. Have you ever seen a gorilla toss something? It looked kinda like that. Very inaccurate, kinda weak, and just overall unviable. Meanwhile the Homo Sapiens just made bows and atlatles and shit and just outranged them.
But there are many theories to why they went away. Here are the most popular ones:
- Interbreeding - they basically just bred with humans and kinda vanished due to recessive genes
- What you said about numbers - Neanderthals didn't have the intricate vocal chords that we do, so their communication options were limited
- Ranged weaponry - see above
- Starvation - What acrow talked about in the comment above you, but it's ulikely because they went extinct after the ice age was already over, and food became more plentiful than ever
So that's all i know. Most of these are very plausible
Humans are most definitely not the most xenophobic. Dwarves, elves, and orcs have them beat by miles.
The human advantage is their psychotic xenophobia reflex. Dwarves are tough and industrious. Elves are perfect and live for centuries. Orcs are made for war. But ones humans get scared - everyone gets the gass chamber... Even the filthy halfbreeds.
@@thedarkmaster4747 In most fantasy settings, humans are usually the least xenophobic. With how rapidly and far the humans expand, they kind of have to be. Human cities usually have the most heavily mixed populations out there.
Suffer not the xenos to live, except the Elves, Guilliman said they are Codex compliant.
@@khai96x Not a priority: fix his dad's shithole imperium.
Priority: acquire thicc aeldari thighs.
First, we're xenophobic. But when we get past that initial hurdle, we'll fuck them. In more ways than one.
I thought hentai has definitive answer for that.
Yep, the ugly bastard did it
@@emperorzerstorer4360 Next to a sweet little male/female elf, anything's an ugly bastard in comparison. But that's okay, because they're into us for what we "have" than what we "are."
According to hentai, it's because of all the demons... allegedly.
"Low fertility rates" is often cited as the reason for their declining population, often competing with more fertile races, combined with the sheer dearth of other species that can breed with them, further complicating their already unstable position in the ecospheres that they live in.
I thought it was more Elves gestation period was longer then humans(~9months) much like with Elephants(~22 months), not their fertility/their ability to produce offspring but the length of time the baby is in them being longer
What irks me about the low fertility rates is that some authors use this as an excuse to treat any elven death as an unimaginable tragedy, while deaths of less long lived species go ignored unless it happens to be a main character.
Feist is a particularly bad example in that he literally states that the death of a child is worse for elven parents than it is for human parents because humans can just make another one. That is not how people work. It would be one thing if this was written from the perspective of an elf, but it's actually a human who *should* know better.
@@clarehidalgo The thing is, it doesn't make much sense biologically speaking. If the gestation period is longer, then the baby should come out more developed. Elves have a very human-like bone structure, so they just wouldn't be able to give birth without dying if they had a grown ass toddler in them. Also, even if the baby is being developed for 3 times longer, it doesn't change anything. Elves live way more than just 3 times longer than humans, so they should still be able to outbreed humans if needed.
@@lred1383 elves usually grow slower.
@@trollzynisaacjohan1793 That clashes with the rates of apoptosis and regeneration. Do elves struggle with every cut and bruise remaining for months? Because that's the tradeoff. Applying science to fantasy creatures is fun, that's how i ended up at the conclusion that centaurs would most likely not be a graceful woodland dweller, but rather a flesh-eating scourge that moves in herds and devours entire villages
To be fair out of every damn story I have seen elves in, they seem to be the reason why everything is in the shitter in the first place
For example in World of Warcraft they are the reason the world is quite literally shattered
In warhammer 40k they ended up breeding a god of chaos
In lord of the rings I don’t particularly know too much but I’m fairly sure they helped create the rings and fought another massive war
In these three examples they where quite massive races and ended up having some massive event which almost straight up destroyed or made the race go into technological regression.
to be fair, the elves in lord of the rings started problems way back in the First Age because the leader of one of the Elf tribes is a prideful prick.
Don't forget that in the Elder Scrolls they made that huge dissent and insurrection factory known as the Aldmeri Dominion.
Makes sense when elves are usually the most powerful mortal-like race outside of literal demonic/godly entities in each of their settings, just like humans in the real world cause most of the problems compared to other "races" like say, dogs, cats or birds. When you have so much power messing up means messing up big time.
@@Bladehound83 And the Dark Elves destroyed Lorkhan's Heart, which paved the way for the Oblivion crisis to happen (It protected the barrier between Oblivion and Nirn, in addition to the dragonfires.) AND the Aldmeri Dominion's campaign to unmake all of Nirn and ascend to godhood. (Since Lorkhan's heart was one of the 'towers' holding Nirn together, which the Dominion are trying to destroy.)
You are right in Lord of the Rings, Sauron is actually an elf. And he set a plan to create the one ring and invade middle earth but also to give jobs to millions of orcs. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all 😁
I like the Tolkien version of it. I don't know if it is considered the official interpretation of elves nature, but I always felt it was implied by reading his books.
The elves make choices that seem illogical to us (like not breeding like crazy even though they could benefit from it) because they simply don't think like us. They were created closer to the ways of nature, they are more prone to have what you would call a "natural" growth, like a plant or a tree. They were made to have a more passive way of seeing things and have a strange awareness of the nature of fate and causality that makes them more fatalistic.
Humans, on the other hand, were made master of their destinies and blind to their future. In the midst of their uncertainty, they always have two choices: hope or hopelessness. Therefore, humanity always thrives and grows and see no limits to where they can go.
In this way, elves are kinda like angels in a biblical sense. They are born nearly perfect, stuck halfway between man and God. Men, in comparison, are born fallen, imperfect but able to choose to make themselves better. Basically, humans are the weak that can strive towards strength and elves are the strong but born with a stagnant form of strength which turns out is the lesser way for survival.
And just like men and God he (eru in this case) loves man more then his angels because of the imperfections sure elf's get to be reborn all the time and dwarfs definitely go to their creator but no one but eru knows what happens to mankind's souls when they die
I would not necessarily say "lesser form of survival", just not competitive like humans and more focused on the environment. Elves are far more in being in balance with nature which also means a more balanced population, Elves are much slower at everything because nature itself is very slow and not in any hurry either.
it's less efficient in competition with other races but humans on the other hand due to their competitiveness tend to destroy their environment frequently, overfish, deforest, destroy vegetation for cities and buildings in order to beat out rival nations/tribes/races but have the upper hand in regards to quick adaptiveness.
@@theenderdestruction2362what happened to mankind soul when they die?
@@masterduel5725 they go beyond the halls of mandos and beyond that only mandos and eru truly know, they all probably get to hang out with papa eru until the world is remade
@@theenderdestruction2362 i though it was that they soul just disappear? And the reason why they call humans the race that can only truly leave the. World
7:10 How can humans be the "most" xenophobic when Human civilizations, across the various mythos and rpg settings: have so many other races in them? Even in their capital cities. Elven territories, Dwarven cities, Hobbit townships, you name the race which establishes it's own civilization and count off how many other races are permitted to live there - forget being welcomed to do so I'm asking about even being permitted to. Meanwhile, in human civilizations, even their capital cities - there's a wealth of other races, many of whom are or have been at war with humans at various times: who are still permitted to live within those human kingdom, fiefdoms or territories. Seems as though humans are the least xenophobic.
Facts.
Yeah I like the human specious they're cool
@@chillycoldchomper9389 yeah i like my race too
@@lvateinn8258 anime is not a species mate
@@chillycoldchomper9389 nah I’m human and i like my race and nothings wrong with watching anime
All tolkin races represent diffrent sides of humanity. Was a concept i learned late in life.
A species being able to live for 5-10 thousand years but only being able to breed for 20-25 years is an INCREDIBLY massive design flaw.
should have given them a madness perk that activates during those 20-25years where the males and females who can have kids breed like rabbits... otherwise just why...
@@felixmustermann790
True. If there was a time they made a lot of kids, then that would balance it out. No overpopulation but no big decline either
@@felixmustermann790You mean like a Vulcan Pon Farr?
Well because fantasy elves become way too conservative and often don't respect anyone who falls outside their narrow values even if those motherfuckers do some good shit like creating new technology.
Also elves spend centuries learning skills which humans learn in decades.
It doesn't take a motherfucker with 12 PhDs and 1000 iq implanted with data processing implants to understand detrimental moral conservatism and having long lives but having a short time to reproduce can put an powerful empire of elves to a firing squad of 6 cannons loaded with grapeshot.
I like to believe that elves, despite their strength are limited in numbers due to a low fertility rate and a high rate of their children being stillborn or being miscarriages, namely, their race is fucking as they have a year round heat, but the rate of their low fertility combined with their low successful birth rate make's elves endangered simply as a byproduct of their nature
in my fantasy would, I wrote how a human king of a new kingdom he was making was able to not only get a peace treaty with elves, but also be worshiped as an elven god of fertility by presenting them a fertility pill, not only did it increase their fertility rate, when taken once a month within a 4-day period, it also removed any risk of the children being stillborn or miscarriages, thus, the elven population boomed as well with most elven families now having 20-30 kids within a hundred years of their life
I like this story I wrote for the elves because it addresses the problem being both low fertility and a low success rate of birthing the child and solution for the elves low birth rate
Elves are supposed to be smarter than everyone else, but how smart can they be if it takes them centuries to learn what humans can in just a half-decade or so?
They have long lives there’s no hurry. Humans have short lives so we learn to adapt and learn quickly or else we die.
Humans are the most intelligent creatures on Earth, but that comes at the cost of abandoning instinct and requiring nurturing and education for many years.
An animal may be able to survive on it's own in just a year or two, but what can it truly achieve in life? Even lower lifeforms like fish and frogs require no parental upbringing and are able to live immediately upon hatching. But their lives mostly consist of being food for larger creatures with only a small percentage surviving long enough to reproduce.
A human may still be considered a child at ages where other creatures are elderly, but their potential in the long run is so much greater.
A creature that lives for centuries or millennia has all the time in the world to learn...well almost anything. Creatures with long lifespans don't have a strong need to reproduce as replacements are not as necessary. A sea turtle that lives for over a century will not have sex as often as a fly who lives for just a few weeks. Flies reproduce at insane rates to counter their short lifespan and high chance of being eaten or killed by larger creatures. Far different than an elephant with a long lifespan and few predators having only one offspring years apart.
@@Bob-lr2xp, That's true. Some animals don't need any nurturing or training.
Insects, reptiles... etc. But they are almost purely instinct driven though.
The trade off is real, lol.
Why should they learn it if they dont need it.
@arnold jayeola I am gonna take medival china as an example china was united and they had no enemies around them so they just stoped advancing new technologies they had black powder but they never
developed shooting weapons. So a chinease dynasty would become decadent and corrupt leading to the fall of this dynasty a civil war and then another dynasty would sit on the throne if there was only china they would have never industrialized and this would be an endless circle. And it is the same thing for the elves they are so strong and mighty that they just dont need it there is no progress because there is no cause to progress. Europe progressed so fast because they had constant wars and needed better technologie to survive and to expand. There is no progress if there is no need to progress.
4:06
so like when japan was isolated for 200 years honing samurai until america came in with steam ships and made them open up the country because they had nothing to fight back with
hell, guns were introduced to japan hundreds of years before that but it took the sport out of it for the samurai so they all collectively stopped using them
The second part of that is totally false. The samurai were very fond of muskets the portugese had introduced to them and in the 1592 invasion of Korea 40,000 of the 160,000 soldiers of japan used a musket as their primary weapon. Granted it was more common among lower tier soldiers than samurai but the samurai also often used them. Hell it was actually used as basically a hunting rifle for *sport* hunting during the Edo period.
@@maliivan1993 I didn't say they didn't use guns at all
but read "Giving up the gun" by Noel Perrin which outlined how in part of their history they prohibited the use of guns (they still had them)
I think it was more of a battle between samurai they didnt use them in that period
But if the opposing force was using them then they would most definitely match it
It's been after years so fuzzy on the exact details
@@ShurikenSean If I find some time I'll read through it apparently it isn't too long. From what I could find online though it seems that a lot of Japanese historians since the 1980-s (and keep in mind Perrin's book was published in 1979) have had issues with his findings. I just read an article by a Japanese historian from 2018 (thankfully written in English) that basically sums up that the government of post-unification Japan made a big deal out of forbidding people from openly *carrying* swords since they were meant to represent the bushi (i.e. the noble warrior class samurai would belong to) but that there weren't really large scale confiscations of guns or any other weapons from the general populace. It also mentions that one of the major reasons Perrin's book is so popular to this day is that it's very convenient for both pro and anti-gun control people in English speaking countries to spin the story of Japan's supposed weapon free society.
If i may add my two cents to that: I don't know how the japanese saw firearms in general, but they certainly didn't developed the technology further as fast as others. They bought portugese matchlocks (which are the first firearms with a real trigger, before that you just put fire to the pan with your hand like you would do with a cannon) and stuck with this mechanism to the end of their sakoku, although they elaborated the design of the matchlock (for example adding a lid so it was usable in wet weather).
Meanwhile europeans and arabs and later north americans developed wheellock, snaphance, flintlock, percussion cap, catridges and finally the revolver. So as the americans came to japan in the 19th century they had Colts, while the japanese still had their outdated tanegashima- guns, who used a trigger mechanism that even a german landsknecht from 1530 would have already known.
Japanese were using their own crafted arquebuses by the sengoku period. By the start of the Imjin war (Korea/China vs. Japan), a quarter of their offensive troops used arquebuses.
It's actually more adequate to compare UK vs. China during the Opium wars, where the Chinese were still using wooden boats and had never seen a boat with an engine or even had guns yet.
To make it even closer of an analogy, the Chinese thought their society inherently superior to all others, considering the Emperor a divine being above any human king, evidenced by the fact at everyone, no matter their status, was to cowtow before the emperor, instead of simply bowing.
"they just find a tree, and sit their" lmao XD
Meanwhile the oblivion theme plays in the background, where elves literally have the rest of the world on their knees at the moment in the elder scrolls.
In the Elder Scrolls they do seem to be more balanced,in fact for Humanity the situation seems dire,for the next centuries it's probably gonna be the age of Mer instead of Men.The Aldmeri Dominion controls Alinor,Valenwood and Elsywer.Has the Empire on a short leash,it seems that it does have a say in certain military affairs in Imperial controlled provinces and Religion.In short the Elves of the Elder Scrolls aren't loser.But in the end all empires of Tamriel decline or collapse.
@@bryanmanuel4945 I read a theory somewhere that the Thalmor could be being lead by Alyeid(s). If there had been secret Alyeid survivors after so many thousands of years they finally have the altmer on their side and would continue their goal of enslaving or even destroying men. Who hate men more than the Thalmor? Alyeids. Could be an interesting feature in TES 6.
@@benofkvatch6585 Could be I assume the Ayleids would get the most revenge,who forged the Empire Alessia and the Nedes,the Ayleid would probably hate the most of men would be the Imperials considering they are desendants of the nedes.After thousands of years they would get revenge on the children of Alessia all her sacrifice just so they would crumble.
@@benofkvatch6585 I like the Elder Scrolls because no Empire last for ever they rise,decline and collapse there are no secret heirs to return hundred of years laters to save it,just look at the Mede's they now rule the Empire and it is in a bad position,hope the Mede's can save it
@@benofkvatch6585 The Thalmor were always the kind of extremists who looked at all the horrors of the Alyeids and went "those guys were the best!"
Fortunately, every time Elves ever got close to dominating/sundering Mundus, there was always an incarnation of Lorkhan in the wings ready to kick the everloving shit out of them, and their hopes and dreams. Especially when an incarnation manages to undergo CHIM...to remind the would-be supremacists they are nothing more than dreamstuff too.
Additionally, any elves you encounter will likely seem more powerful by comparison because when a species is slowly dying off, it's the stronger ones that tend to survive longer. The fewer elves there are, the stronger the average elf is.
well...
40k eldar cant breed. The entire race is almost infertile and also feel passion very acutely. Either they all succumb to a very strict breeding plan or they have to just constantly mate with everyone else, which will invariably start summoning demons of slaanesh
dnd/fr elves have a birthrate completely decided by their gods. When an elf dies their soul goes to a massive lake in the place where their gods live and a new one is born only when one of the gods want one to be and a soul is given from that lake. The ability elves get, Trance, where they do not need to sleep and instead meditate, is actually an elf trying to look in on a few memories from their past lives. This whole system means that during wartime elven babies pop up everywhere and during peace new elves are a rare sight. This is also why elves fear half-elves. Do they have half an elven soul, destroyed for this new body? is it a completely new soul?
Actually..the Eldar are more then able to breed. Rather, the trouble is that the mating cycle of the Eldar is the mother is creating the baby, the father has to add new genetic material over time constantly. More so, the act of pleasure from it makes it quite difficult to avoid the effect of Slaanesh. The Eldar do breed, and they do make up their losses toa degree, but it's not perfect. Craftworld Ulthwae is a example of such a place where this occurs, as well as Craftworld Antioch, and the Eldar Exodites are also creating new colonies which are flourishing too. it's not ALL grimdark.
@@WintersFinalstand As utterly despicable as I find this notion in real life, why don't they use certain medical proceedures and drugs to dull or even eliminate the pleasure of said experiences?
@@patrickbuckley7259 Its possible but it carries a stigma associated with the Dark Eldar. Plus the Eldar don't react with drugs in a way a human might. Plus drugs can hurt the offspring as well. it's why a mother shouldn't drink, or use numerous medications during a pregnancy. It's more so for the Eldar who take longer. Also, the warp is a factor. The Eldar are highly regimented, and psycho-active a species. It's not exactly easy to dull out sensation for them. Everything we may feel is amplified for a Eldar, so at most you take the edge off what to us would be a overpowering emotion. As such, it's really tough. Also the Eldar do take small pleasures in their world. Not all are warriors. Some are artisans of perfection, others sing and dance. When the Eldar master their way of life, they adopt a entirely new field. A warrior of peerless skill and ability will drop it all at the height of their mastery, and become a singer for a long time. A bad one perhaps, but eventually, a master. They do enjoy their culture. Sex itself may be a powerful feeling, but it's not what can damn the eldar itself. It's the indulgence in it. In short, they are prudes to a fault, live in limited space craftworlds, and have tons of pressing problems that really make them question bringing a child in at times.
@@WintersFinalstand don't forget that they also need soulstones and the only way to get those is to travel to the croneworlds. If they had a lot more soulstones I think they would have a lot more children
@@comandercarnis May not be necessarily the case anymore for the Ynnari.
Because 'science advances one funeral at a time'. All those ancient elves from a thousand+ years ago, still thinking thousand year old thoughts and still very much in charge.
I've never really seen Elves as endangered. They just remove themselves from consideration better than most other races. It's hard to break into a fey domain uninvited, and it's easier to tell the violent, short-lived races that you're dying out rather than deal with a bunch of them trying to wander into your village.
I like to believe that elves, despite their strength are limited in numbers due to a low fertility rate and a high rate of their children being stillborn or being miscarriages, namely, their race is fucking as they have a year round heat, but the rate of their low fertility combined with their low successful birth rate make's elves endangered simply as a byproduct of their nature
in my fantasy would, I wrote how a human king of a new kingdom he was making was able to not only get a peace treaty with elves, but also be worshiped as an elven god of fertility by presenting them a fertility pill, not only did it increase their fertility rate, when taken once a month within a 4-day period, it also removed any risk of the children being stillborn or miscarriages, thus, the elven population boomed as well with most elven families now having 20-30 kids within a hundred years of their life
I like this story I wrote for the elves because it addresses the problem being both low fertility and a low success rate of birthing the child and solution for the elves low birth rate
Short answer: because Tolkien made them superficially look like they're vanishing, and everyone else ripped him off but changed the backstory so they're actually vanishing.
And yes, even in Tolkien's Legendarium an Elf could never physically produce more than a child every century. And even there they have less and less offspring as time progresses. Also they physically need peace and calm to reproduce, due to how their relations of body and spirit are different.
This is just one of the reasons why Skyrim is so freaking awesome. The Elves aren't just pretentious jerks who look down on everyone and think they're superior, but they're also the driving force for conflict in the world and by themselves as a singular race, are pushing back against all the other races in that world, seeking to rule the Earth.
their world is called Nirn, not Earth
Humans have a preference for humans.
Literature about humans sells better.
I don't know about that. Plenty of inhuman protagonists out there.
@@rockspoon6528 Like pyro from tf2
He has some real inhuman thoughts
@@anduro7448 Do you believe in magic?
I've long been annoyed that out of five Star Trek series, we never once got a non-human captain in the leading role.
I mean, young white guy, old white guy, black guy, white gal, and then another young white guy (and a theme song that's a pop song and has lyrics??? I should've known that was the death knell). And which characters do I attach myself to? The half-Vulcan, the android, the shapeshifter, the hologram, the antihero spy alien, the "did anyone actually bother to think twice about the implications of a race that only bears one child in their whole lifetimes, never mind the nine-year lifespan??" chick. Oh, and Bashir, the weird but enthusiastic and compassionate outsider who turns out to have a Dark Secret that makes him awesome.
I'm not saying that the captains were boring, just that a ton of other characters were more interesting, and why do we end up with the Captain and First Mate being both human in three of the five series? I hate the "boring potato" theory of cast creation.
In eldritch or Lovecraftian literature, it doesn't matter. Everyone's fucked up regardless by some incomprehensible being whose dreams create the reality we live in.
Elves are like amish people with nuclear weapons in the tip of their fingers
So... They are basically the pillar men's race of the fantasy writting.
drekavak R2 nice reference (I think)
nah, the pillar men killed the rest of their race because they opposed their objective
I was about to make this comparison
Literally everyone else: *bones*
Elves: *write poetry*
They're endangered because of 2 reasons that's explained in EVERY setting.
1) They're long lived and have low birth rates.
2) They get too comfortable with their superiority and cause some kind of cataclysm that kills off most of them.
The end :)
Though in Tolkein it is just because the want to go to heaven where magic is still in full swing.
@@imaloser5689 In LoTRs elves and humans did an oopsie, the elves ran away from the problems they created but humans were forced to fix them. I am not saying the humans are saints but damn the elves were pricks. I would say humans are generally morally better than elves because most times elves had the power to fix something but they didnt until it gets too late or they abstain from conflicts completely.
@@halinaqi2194 Eh. Only some of their later problems were foisted off onto humans. Everything they were directly responsible for they dealt with until the bloody end and the quote unquote mess they actually leave behind is Sauron whom they opposed and struck down with humans at their side. This war literally ended with a huge portion of their population wiped out. All of Erigion exterminated, a third of mirkwoods population and their current king annihilated, the high king killed in combat. The elves were a shattered race who really had no reason to stay in middle earth.
I like witcher's version. Female elves had fun with humans and then aids happened.
Well, technically elves in the witcher's realm are just long lived humans, they seem even weaker than them physically. Iorveth himself told geralt that the only difference lies in the angle of the ears.
You do realize that it's not just your head cannon but actual cannon take a look at Celtic or more specifically Irish Gaelic mythology
Jeanne Mooberry Most older mythologies have the elves being bred into extinction by the encroaching humans... Might have been a cultural artefact of the early indo-Europeans outbreeding then eventually breeding out Europe's indigenous inhabitants.
Probably true in many ways. I was thinking at first Tolkien was to blame for starting all this, but probably it’s the result of old ways dying off.
@Sky Castrum I know right and it makes me really sad that it's so hard to lear about my ancestry I'm Irish and can trace my lineage back to Ireland in the last four hundred years on both sides of my family
@@skycastrum5803 Tolkien actually based a lot of what he wrote on old legends like the Irish ones that basically have humans fighting everything Fairy and Fey to a bloody standstill and locking them up.
@The Action packed snack bleach Which is why we should be researching artificial wombs and asexual methods of reproduction. We have to break the cycle.
The Warhammer example isn't really all that fair when you realize basically everything in Warhammer can cut through steel like paper, and those who can't have war machines the size of planets.
So many of these explanations miss a single key point: they rely on every single elf not deviating from the "standard" elf.
It doesn't take a whole civilisation of elves with the right drive and circumstance to rule the world, it takes ONE elf taking an interest in how humans do things and fancying giving it a spin for a small fraction of their lives, hiring human staff rather than elvesfor their own little company and running it with all the skills acquired over centuries.
Reflect back upon the industrial revolution, and how much power the captains of industry had. The colonial era and how much power the great trading companies had. The modern era and how much power tech companies have.
Now imagine one super-genius having taken up on this colonies thing as a hobby back in the 1600s, watching the start of the industrial revolution and thinking "those are some neat toys, I want to play too" and later on becoming enamoured with computing. They'd run and own whatever they liked. If they wanted to they could name themselves king of all the elves too due to all that power, and the only ones in any position to stop them would be other elves that went down the same route.
It's not sufficient to posit a biological strategy that makes an elvish nation not rule the world. It's not enough to explain why elvish society naturally doesn't adapt much on its own. One also needs to explain why NO elves make ANY (successful) attempt to learn from other cultures and make use of the lessons to be found there.
It changes from setting to setting. The notion that elves are all like this is nonsense- in the Elder Scrolls, the Altmer are the most powerful race in the world by the time of the 4th era and have consistently been one of the most powerful nations. The time that the human Empire conquered the Altmer homeland, they were armed with an artificial god (which had been built by elves, by the way). In the Forgotten Realms, elves are still one of the most populous races on the Sword Coast despite thousands of them leaving for the islands to the west centuries ago. In Star Trek, the Vulcans remain one of the most influential races in the Federation and their cousins the Romulans remain the most technologically sophisticated empire in the Alpha Quadrant.
In Middle Earth, the world and its inhabitants are governed by theology, not nature. The passing of the Elves signifies the end of the era of moral goodness- since the Elves are the 'good' race, where the Orcs are evil and humans are kinda in the middle. In so many generic fantasy settings, the elves (or their equivalent) are simply extremely insular, comparable to Japan prior to industrialisation. In many of these settings, the lack of progress they make shows in the worldbuilding, where they lose ground to their technologically superior and more numerous enemies, such as in Warhammer.
Let us not forget that the iron age Chinese were not ignorant of the rest of the world. Chinese explorers knew of foreign lands like Africa and Europe, much like fantasy elves usually know about humans and dwarves and so on. Just as China has eventually caught up to the rest of the world and become one of its most formidable powers again, I think it's reasonable to expect that this would eventually happen with elves as well- the question is simply when.
the issue i have with the one head cannon, is by their nature of liveing a long time they will be more willing and able to addapt and change. we see this with animals. longer lived animals adapt faster and better then shorter lived animals which helps them live that long in ever changeing nature.
thus if we ever got a species that could live thousands of years they would be way BETER at adapting to change and far MORE willing to change then a human would as they would see dramatic change/s in their lifetime to be normal. unlike humans how are usually only apart of 1 major change at most and tend to resist this change as it feels unnatural.
you can't compare the actions of old humans to elves just because elves are as old or older. they will have a different interpretation of life and change due to the very nature of liveing along time.
also how many industrial settings have elves? so that other one where they lack technology is based on? what? both the lord of the rings elves AND warhammer elves do have a desire for expansion and exploration (wanderlust), the former just have an enate desire to 'head west' so over time they go west, but they are still the most technologically advanced race in the setting. similarly both warhammer fantasy and warhammer 40k elves had massive empires and love to explore and expand and have some of the most advanced technology (combined with magic) [excludeing necrons, eldar are the most advanced race, and thats after regressing significantly, while elves in warhammer have more advanced cothing and forgeing abilities then even dwarves, they just don't need gunpowder or steam due to magical abilities). its just slow breeding and massive catastrophes have reduced their ability to do the latter, many still do the former but restricted due to the dangers (and the increased importance of individuals).
only wood elves sit in their forest for thousands of years. high elves are typically depicted as naval explorers and heavily involved in world politics while dark are typically depicted as conquerers and raiders.
But also consider that their long lives aren't often natural. Often their expansively long lives or even potential immortality is from a supernatural cause (even if that cause is just being a magical creature). So it may well be that stripped of all supernatural qualities, their lives would be comparable to humans, and thus have a similar level for adaptability.
@@WolforNuva which mythos are you referring to that elves are unnaturally long lived? Most if not all I've seen or read have that being just how elves are.
@@FatalShadow13 Nothing specifically, though I do base most of my perceptions on them from D&D. Elves are often magical creatures (by which I mean magic is intrinsically part of their being), and often their long lived quality is meant to add to their wonder and mystique, so it's not a stretch to infer that they have those long lives because of their innate magical qualities.
I'm not saying that they had human lifespans and then expanded them artificially, just that biologically they might be similar to humans, but can live much longer due to being magical. The fact that they can (at least in D&D) breed with humans to make half elves implies that they are similar enough to humans to be considered part of the same species.
Edit: Just also thought of this after posting; but their lifespans themselves also just appear to be wholly unnatural. They often mature at similar rates to humans, perhaps a bit slower, and they just don't get old and decrepit. That along with living hundreds to thousands of years, or even being able to potentially live infinitely in other settings certainly implies to me that their long lives are not from mundane biology.
@@WolforNuva most elven races, with a few notable exceptions, don't live for hundreds of thousands of years, those being LotR and the Dwarves series of books, maybe the Inheritance (Eragon) series. Most top out at a thousand years at most with sub species like Drow or wood elves having more or less.
Elves in warhammer are not the equal of dwarfen smiths, no one equals a dwarf at forge work no one. Their lack of technological advancement should concern them though, empire hand gunners tear through armor like paper, steam tanks have no trouble dealing with even elite elven units and empire artillery is every bit as damning as any magic I assure you. The empire also has its wizards although not as skilled as elves they are more plentiful. Another thing the empire has going for them are snipers who can hit casters from near a mile away.
They're endangered 'cause of me
TheGoodFather
Nah man youre shit
No, it's because of me
I see you there, Mr Whitestrake
@bryan diaz varela just doing my duty sir
I only hate the thalmor, i can repsect the other races
"Its such a splendid night, the starlight is radiating through the canopy." - Female elf
"Yes my moonlight, come, let's have a philosophical discussion about the deeper meaning of life and the universe." - Male elf
"...?" - Female elf
THIS IS WHY ELVEN FEMALES CHOOSES HUMAN MALES
THE SCOTTISH ACCENT.
Aldmeri Dominion:
Am I a joke to you?
Yes.
In Eragon they explained this. Eragon asked Arya about the scarcity of Elven children, as he'd only seen two, despite the city being so overly massive. She explained that since the elves can more or less live forever (or long enough, at least, that they really just couldn't care about time) it became a very rare thing- as well as a Child representing a permanent bond, which they apparently dislike doing. They simply existed, breeding itself was considered a kind of savage-like act.
She even corrects him when he asks why they are refusing to fight- up until recently, when humans started taking important trees from their forest. They knew Galbatorix existed, and knew he was a threat, but since he hadn't come their way they'd chosen to simply defend their home and not fight his armies.
I always took it as "resource management" for elves. I mean, yes, they often live for centuries or millennia in most settings, but by comparison that also means you have to find ways of feeding yourselves for that long. Extended childhoods mean there is a greater chance of experiencing disasters, such as famine, pandemics. Even if elves produce children at a similar rate to humans, elf children will be dependent for much longer, requiring more resources. That's gotta lead to many elves who don't make it to adulthood, or even some elders who kicked the bucket before their time, simply because there was not enough to go around.
It really depends on the universe. In D&D elves are one of the “common” races, and even though they don’t have as high of a population as humans they’re definitely a thriving civilization.
On top of that in D&D elves aren’t really inherently better than humans, just more specialized. Humans being more well rounded jack of all trades might have lead to them being more successful in a more diverse set of situations even though they aren’t as good at what elves do best.
In terms of ecology this makes perfect sense. Generalist species spread to more environments than species that specialize in specific environments or niches in the food chain and are overall less susceptible to dying off due to changes in environments that can make specialists vulnerable to extinction.
D&D elves are fucking terrible. It would make the most sense for those elves to go extinct, because they age slow and die very easily, and are outclassed in nearly every combat role by humans and other races.
Acesahn I mean you say that but really in 5e you could make an elf barbarian and with the right stuff into level ups you can get this elf barbarian to 24 strength on 20th level. Besides this ignores dex revolving melee builds, using things like rapiers. Sure it’s no big ol hammer or whatever but tbh sword and shield fighters are the most op ones so who even cares if your weapon is bigger.
I think what you fail to recognize though is the fact that even though you’re wrong you still kind of fail to see the point. I won’t argue that elves aren’t as versatile as humans but to call them inherently weaker is sort of a misnomer. Perhaps you have bad experiences playing them?
@@t.b.cont. So I fail to recognize that I'm wrong and also fail to see the point of why I'm wrong... you must be a fun person to know lol.
You ignored their pitiful constitution by the way. You know, that thing you need to keep from DYING. That thing that when it happens your long life ends prematurely, wasting 100s of years of time because a stiff breeze struck you? lol
Acesahn I mean, what edition are you even playing? Either way, being honest this game is so rng based anyways you could get away with a wizard with -1 to intelligence. Like there’s not much strict play going on here. You can say things like “you must be fun to talk to” but I’m not really the one who’s saying “elves bad the end terrible race end of story”. Only the sith deal in absolutes man
@@t.b.cont. Thats an absolute statement...
Ive been working on a book with elves that addresses this issue; aging. For my elves, they age slowly, sometimes 1/25th the speed of humans. Meaning, children stay children for ages (think baby yoda). Therefore, all it takes is a wolf getting into a nursery, and you're 50 year old baby that is technically 2, is gone, and you gotta start all over to get a full grown, productive member of society. factor in wars, sickness, old age (if relevant), and plot, its an uphill struggle.
0:27 not all elves. In eragon, barely any elf children exist, and no more are made until possibly after the series
There’s this idea in some dnd campaigns where the actual elf population is like quadruple the population of all other races combined but the reason elves seem endangered are because they are spreaded out across like 20 planets/planes
Others have touched on this with mention of fertility and reproductive cycles, but Elves seem to follow a general pattern in nature that the more you spec into the quality(complexity, longevity, etc) of each individual organism, the less quantity you have for the species as a whole, and thus the loss of any single member hurts relatively harder for the species as a whole. One of the outliers to this pattern is, arguably, Humanity itself. In many fictional words the decline of the Elves corresponds with the rise of Man(and I think you can extend the definition of "Elves" to whatever the elder/firstborne society in that universe is). I think it's no coincidence that IRL humanity is one of main causes of extinctions.
You bring up a lot of good points, one of the best explanations i have ever come across is in one of the dungeon core books. Oversimplifying things a bit here mind you, but in that world elves are again super powerful but have a somewhat symbiotic relationship with a certain kind of tree whos pollen can cause them to become fertile. If i remember right the reason they became so rare was that other races basically took one look at the op elves gave a collective nope and cut down every single one of said trees they could find. Easier to kill a twig and wait for the scary knife ears to die out.
It's because they're all too busy being in elf/orc h-doujins to get anything else done.
I think it's just that literally everyone hates them.
In no game no life, part of the plot is that elves are the most dominant race. Its a good anime with lots of "plot" and even better plot.
they are also primed to have a huge internal struggle over their very stratified and divided caste system, with the various levels of nobility and slaves- I love the bit where the duo of elf and human slave trick a noble by swaping places via illusion to pull one over on a racist slave owning elf.
Realy the only reason elves have so much power in that setting is that they are in the sweet spot- they are one of the races that does build empires (the dragons, deus, and angels are way stronger but don't empire build) and doesn't have any big weaknesses (the dampire, may be the siren need to be underwater enough for it to count) and have enough magic to either compete with or dominate teh other races that want land (the warbeasts and humans). Warbeast have their own niche using their rediculous physical abilities taht are basically magic with thier misdirection, and do the same thing that elves do with magic via their tech to cheat, the only reason elves have a bigger empire is taht teh warbeasts developed their tech fairly recently. Really everyone in that setting is waiting for the eleven superiority to collapse and them all to get overthemselves, teh one nice elf we see is basically campaining in a guerilla fashion for that very outcome.
There's a similar problem with Demi-human and demons in Japanese fantasy. Specifically the more combat-oriented kinds like half-demon or tiger or wolf or dragon usually have superior stats over human besides magic potentials (in some case, the half-dragon is great at magic). Yet they are usually enslaved by human only to be freed by the protagonist then display ability make you wonder "how the hell did you caught and enslaved?"
In demon case, they're seemingly at war with human in most settings but can't get further than constant stalemate (well the scale is tipped slightly to their side). Even the mook type demons are told to have the strength to slaughter a group of human with ease. Yet they're all stepping stone for the protagonist to grow with ridiculous rate
Man, I dunno, mindbroken elves never seem to have a problem with fertility. Maybe they should take a hint.
This comment is cursed
No
A Saiyan, a Kryptonian, and a Time Lord all walk into a bar. Then they go fucking extinct.
read title, because Tolkien had a love for them and wants them to be rare, and it stuck
That's why in the Zelda series everyone is an elf
Man, there are some people who would knife you for calling the characters in the Zelda series elves. I still have the scar to prove it.
Thank god, someone is finally tearing the elves of their high horses.
The Witcher books covered this pretty well. It had a number of moments where elves were bemoaning being replaced by humans “Just because they’re better at fighting and fucking”.
Fell in love with the voice. don't know what other kinds of videos you do, but I'm hoping you're the only person who voices these, so that I can hear more of it, over time.
In Re:Zero, elves are hunted down due to discrimination due to the big bad guy being a half elf. They also get hunted down by the Cult of said bad guy. And these guys use straight-up cheats such as a book that can predict the future, op abilities such as shape shifting, and straight-up invulnerability. The only reason why the FMC is still alive is due to her being frozen for one hundred years in a desolate forest and that the MC can alter fate.
This was pretty good. Some things about the elf/fey dynamic might illuminate some issues I have with the analysis, but stand-alone this is a solid argument.
That,s because Elves suffer from Elf Guilt and chose not to have children but adopt orcs and goblins instead.
They either breed too slowly or get technologically outmatched.
A more meta reason, it's because humans like an underdog who wins and most books are written by humans.
So you read some books written by non-humans? Sorry you just worded funny. :D
My version of it is that elves and dwarves aren't really falling so much as the shorter lived races are rising to power incredibly quickly.
I imagine the elven and dwarven societies grow in power linearly and had a massive head start, but the humans and orcs grow exponentially. For a long time elves and dwarves would rule as unopposed masters of the world, but eventually the exponential curve will far exceed the linear.
They are not Perfectly balanced as all things should be.
I love this voice, the accent is amazing.
Its because of the elves long life; it could take an elf nearly a century to reach maturity; that is 100 years; in that time a human born on the exact same day could have grown up, had 3 or 4 kids who survived to maturity, each of whom have 3 or 4 more kids each, who then grown up and have 3 or 4 more kids. There is simply no way they can compete; if a single elf can defeat a dozen humans then we can send 2 dozen per elf.
And that's only if we consider the elf to be a natural. If they are meant to be more fantastical, then there may be limits on when and where they can breed; maybe they have to be under a sacred oak when all 3 moons in the sky are aligned, which only happens every 133 years. Something like this would severely limit the number of children you could have.
also, in Warhammer 40k. they rly cant breed without a demonic god of depravity trying to eat them
In Warhammer 40k the Eldar bred so much that their reproductive organs got messed up and don't work right no more.
If elves are rare,why does everyone in this world learn about the High Elves?
Now, picture this: Elven Clan is almost wiped out. Only younger elves/ children survive. Are taken in by nearby friendly Dwarf Mining clan. Learn the ways and lifestyles of the Industrious and more forward-thinking Dwarven stonecutters & engineers. Thoughts?
so, girly dwarves?
would end up barely doin anything, the elves will either crossbreed with dwarves or humans (since both societys barely have any difference) and over the long term those pure elven relations will just die
The Elder Scrolls had a scenario like this, but it didn't turn out so well for the elves elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Falmer
@@jjfajen The "Dwarves" in the elder scrolls series were literally just another race of elves.
Somehow i picture elves with fucking dwarf crafted gatling guns.
"Why are elves basically endangered?" I've got one word for you: Pelinal.
Y'all get it😎
'...and Pelinal came to Perrif's camp of rebels holding a sword and mace, both encrusted with the smashed viscera of elven faces, feathers and magic beads, which were the markings of the Ayleidoon, stuck to the redness that hung from his weapons, and he lifted them, saying: "These were their eastern chieftains, no longer full of their talking." '
Would love to see a video on the differences and implications of tolkien style agelessness and the more common thousands or hundreds of years lifespans for elves!
In fantasy world I make for my D&D campaigns, elves are pretty much never near-extinct, instead they're the most dominant force in the world but control such a huge territory thanks to that, that they're basically unable to expand.
They also used to have a powerful enemy in a nation of Tieflings (Ruled by Paladin kings), who they only defeated after an extremely long and horrifying war, so their whole society is basically traumatised into pacifism similiar to post-WW1 France or Great Brittain, and only 1000 years after that war they're beginning to heal. So that's why, despite being the most powerful and advanced society, they're currently not a threat to other races, or at least won't start a new war, the old war against Tiefling nation is, however, still ongoing in the minds of their leaders, and therefore they secretly spread hatred towards tiefling by spreading lies that they're devils of hellish lineage, they also make sure any knowledge of the war is erased from the world since most of other races (Except for dwarves) used to fight on Tiefling side, and elves fear that they'll try to reclaim their homeland which is currently held under elven control (Basically, during the worldwide war human population needed to escape to Tiefling land, and that's where they live now, similiarily to how Germanic tribes escaped from Huns and some then allied Rome). And finally, some who were fighting on Tiefling side either achieved immortality or passed on the fight, so elves focus on hunting them down.
Character on thumbnail feels familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time lmao
I know what you mean
Need... a... source...
same reason why population is declining in overpowered developed nations
You mean the ruthless capitalistic system changed elven culture so that families who want the best for their children can't afford the best? And the elven companies pay so little, that it is basically required for both parents to be employed? So elven female has to choose between carrer or family? And the Woodland government just sleeps and doesn't provide more benefits or tax breaks for elven family planing?
That's some intriguing insight on the mysterious elven society right there!
Because humans. We're argentinian ants.
Malcolm Thorne you watch Kurzgesagt?
@@VoltairePrime I saw that particular episode, yeah.
they can't take all of us down
I always conceptualized elves as having moderation and fore thought so they wouldn't want to overpopulate their world.
However, that basically means that at some point, the youngest generation basically can't be parents.
In my tabletop setting, elven civilization started to decline after the split and following war with the drow. This left a lot of scars on the survivors who had centuries afterward to pass on to the younger generations. A collective depression started to form, which was further exasperated with conflict with orcs and the like. This left the elves a sad shadow of their former selves by the time they encountered the growing empire founded by humans.
I love this voice.
I could listen to this on an audio book.
My favorite elf/half elf. I ever played was in a setting where elfs had been enslaved by evil dragons. They where treated like African American in the 1800s and early 1900s. And what I can say I HAD FUCKEN FUN FUCKEN WITH THE DM WORLD
Lost Adventurer Ghetto elves? Because that’s where my mind immediately went after reading “elves are like African Americans” and that’s an absolutely incredible train of thought.
They where ghetto XD at least I was
Firstly, they aren't overpowered in most settings, they're just less underpowered than humans.
Secondly, they aren't nearly endangered in most stories, they just don't want anything to do with humans.
There are exceptions for both cases.
Like in K&M where they're actually endangered and very necessary for human survival, though not OP.
Quinton Craig K&M?
@@Yarkoonian
Knight's and Magic
Yes the English title is a typo, but that's what will get you search results. The anime is fun but lacking, you'll want to look for the light novel or manga if you want more details.
@Josh Nor are they overpowered.
They're just slightly better at magic (depending on the breed) and live significantly longer.
Elves not only breed slowly but also grow slowly. a 100 year old elf is probably barely a kid if not a baby.
Imagine committing several centuries if not over a millenium just for your kid to grow up into being a "teen".
No wonder they usually don't bother.
I'm hearing three words right here. 'Forced breeding program.' It's a Mr. Welch dream come true